Part 2Civil unions

Subpart 1—Entering into civil union

Capacity

7Age of eligibility

8Partners not to be already married or in civil union

A person who is in a civil union is prohibited from entering into a civil union with another person; and a person who is married is prohibited from entering into a civil union with either their spouse (except by changing the form of their relationship in accordance with section 18) or any other person.

9Partners not to be within prohibited degrees of civil union

Two people who are within the prohibited degrees of civil union, as set out in Schedule 2, are prohibited from entering into a civil union with each other, except as provided in section 10.

Formalities

11Notice of civil union, and statutory declaration

(1)If 2 people intend to enter into a civil union, one of them must appear personally before the Registrar and give notice in the prescribed form of the intended civil union.

(2)The person giving notice must also make a statutory declaration in the prescribed form before the Registrar declaring that—

(a)the person believes that the parties are not within the prohibited degrees of civil union or, if they are, an order has been made under section 10 dispensing with the prohibition; and

(b)there is no other lawful impediment to the intended civil union; and

(c)the particulars in the notice are true.

(3)However, if the 2 parties to an intended civil union are ordinarily resident outside New Zealand, the requirements of this section are satisfied if—

(a)one of the parties posts the notice in the prescribed form to the Registrar; and

(b)one of the parties, at any time before the licence is issued or (if the Registrar is to solemnise the civil union) the civil union is solemnised, makes a statutory declaration as to the matters in subsection (2)(a) to (c).

(4)A person giving notice under this section must pay the prescribed notice fee.

12Issue of licence and forms where solemnisation by civil union celebrant or exempt body

(1)After notice has been given under section 11, if the civil union is to be solemnised by a civil union celebrant or an exempt body, the Registrar must issue a licence and information return forms in accordance with this section, and section 15 or section 16 applies. (If the civil union is to be solemnised by a Registrar, section 14 applies.)

(2)Despite subsection (1), a Registrar must not issue a licence and information return forms if—

(a)he or she has reasonable cause to believe that the civil union is prohibited by this Act, or that any of the requirements of this Act have not been complied with; or

(b)a notice of objection to the civil union of either party has been lodged under section 21 and the notice has not been withdrawn or discharged; or

(c)the prescribed notice fee has not been paid.

(3)The Registrar may not issue the licence and information return forms sooner than the third day after the notice was given, unless the Registrar is satisfied that parties to the intended civil union would be inconvenienced by the delay.

(4)The licence must be in the prescribed form, and must authorise the civil union of the 2 people specified in the licence at the place, or at one of the 2 places, in New Zealand, specified in the licence.

(5)A Registrar other than the Registrar to whom the notice was given may issue the licence and information return forms, in which case the Registrar to whom the notice was given does not need to do so.

14Solemnisation by Registrar

(a)the Registrar is satisfied that the civil union is not prohibited by this Act; and

(b)the Registrar is satisfied that the requirements of this Act have been complied with; and

(c)the Registrar is satisfied that—

(i)no notice of objection to the civil union has been lodged under section 21; or

(ii)if a notice of objection has been lodged, it has been withdrawn or discharged; and

(d)the solemnisation does not take place—

(i)before the third day after notice of the intended civil union has been given under section 11, unless the Registrar is satisfied that the parties to the intended civil union would be inconvenienced by the delay; or

(ii)more than 3 months after the date on which notice of the intended civil union was given (or, where a notice of objection has been lodged, more than 3 months after the date on which the notice of objection was withdrawn or discharged).

(2)During the solemnisation, in the presence of the Registrar and at least 2 witnesses, each party must make a clear statement to the other that—

(a)names both parties; and

(b)acknowledges that they are freely joining in a civil union with each other.

(3)No Registrar is obliged to solemnise a civil union on a day that is not a working day.

15Solemnisation by civil union celebrant

(a)the civil union celebrant is in possession of a licence in respect of the 2 parties; and

(b)the solemnisation takes place at the place (or at one of the 2 places) named in the licence; and

(c)the solemnisation does not take place more than 3 months after the date of issue of the licence.

(2)During the solemnisation, in the presence of the civil union celebrant and at least 2 witnesses, each party must make a clear statement to the other that—

(a)names both parties; and

(b)acknowledges that they are freely joining in a civil union with each other.

(3)The celebrant must, under section 62B of the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act 1995, take all reasonable steps to ensure that the civil union is registered under that Act.

16Solemnisation by exempt body

(1)A civil union may be solemnised by an exempt body if it is solemnised in accordance with the rules and procedures of the body as most recently notified to the Registrar-General in accordance with Schedule 1.

(2)When a civil union is solemnised by an exempt body, the obligations imposed on civil union celebrants by section 62B of the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act 1995 must be performed by the person or office holder, or in the manner, as set out in the rules and procedures of the exempt body that have been most recently notified to the Registrar-General in accordance with Schedule 1.

Changing form of relationship

17Purpose of section 18

The purpose of section 18 is to allow couples who are married or in a civil union with each other, and who wish to continue in a relationship with each other, to change the form of that relationship by having the new form of relationship solemnised without having to formally dissolve the first relationship (which normally involves living apart for 2 years).

18Changing form of relationship

(1)A married couple may enter into a civil union with each other; and 2 people in a civil union with each other, and who are otherwise eligible to marry, may marry each other.

(2)Before changing the form of their relationship under this section, the party who gives the notice required by section 11 of this Act or section 23 of the Marriage Act 1955 must state on the form that the parties are already in a civil union with each other or are married to each other (as the case requires) and that they wish to change the form of their relationship.

(3)The solemnisation of the marriage of 2 people who are in a civil union with each other changes the relationship from a civil union into a marriage; but in any situation in which the duration of the resulting marriage is in issue, the duration of the earlier civil union is to be treated as part of the duration of the marriage.

(4)The solemnisation of a civil union between 2 people who are married to each other changes the relationship from a marriage into a civil union; but in any situation in which the duration of the resulting civil union is in issue, the duration of the earlier marriage is to be treated as part of the duration of the civil union.

Consent for persons aged 16 or 17

19Consent to civil union of persons aged 16 or 17

(1)A Registrar may not issue a licence in respect of a civil union, or solemnise a civil union, in which one of the parties is aged 16 or 17 unless the Registrar is satisfied that the consents required by this section have been obtained.

(2)A person aged 16 or 17 who wishes to enter into a civil union must obtain the consent of each of his or her guardians to the proposed civil union.

(3)However, the consent of a particular guardian is not required if the guardian cannot be found or is unable to give consent as a result of incapacity.

(4)If, because of subsection (3), there is no guardian from whom consent can be sought, consent must be obtained either from a relative who has been acting in the place of a guardian or from a Family Court Judge.

(5)Every consent under this section must—

(a)be in writing; and

(b)except in the case of a consent issued by a Family Court Judge, be witnessed by some person who must sign the consent and give his or her full name and address; and

(c)be delivered to the Registrar to whom notice of the intended civil union is given.

(6)A consent may be withdrawn, in writing, at any time before the Registrar issues the licence or solemnises the civil union, as the case requires.

20Application to Family Court Judge if consent refused

(1)If a person whose consent to a civil union is required under section 19 refuses to give that consent, a Family Court Judge may, on application, consent to the civil union, and that consent has the same effect as if it had been given by the person who refused to give consent.

(2)When an application is made to a Family Court Judge for consent to a civil union, notice of the application must be served on every person whose consent to the civil union is required under section 19.

(3)Despite subsection (2), a Family Court Judge may, at his or her discretion, dispense with serving notice on a person whose consent to a civil union is required under section 19.

Notice of objection to civil union

21Notice of objection to proposed civil union

(1)A person may lodge with any Registrar a notice of objection to the civil union of any person named in the notice on the grounds that the civil union is one for which a licence should not be issued.

(2)Every notice of objection must be in writing signed by or on behalf of the person who lodged the notice of objection, and must state the person's full name, residential address, and the particulars of the grounds of objection on which the notice of objection is founded.

(3)A copy of a notice of objection may be given to any Registrar other than the Registrar with whom it was lodged, in which case the copy must also show the date and place of lodgement of the notice of objection.

(4)A notice of objection lapses 1 year from the date on which it was lodged unless, within that time, a notice has been given under section 11 of the intended civil union of the person to whom the notice of objection relates.

(5)A notice of objection lodged under this section is for all purposes to be treated as also being a caveat lodged under section 25 of the Marriage Act 1955; and a caveat lodged under section 25 of the Marriage Act 1955 is for all purposes to be treated as also being a notice of objection lodged under this section.

22Judge to deal with notice of objection

(1)If a Registrar receives notice under section 11 of an intended civil union and the Registrar is aware that a notice of objection has been lodged with respect to either party to the intended civil union, the Registrar must immediately submit the notice of objection to a Family Court Judge or, if a Family Court Judge is not available, to a District Court Judge.

(2)The Judge to whom the notice of objection is submitted must immediately inquire into the grounds of objection stated in the notice of objection, and, if the Judge is of the opinion that those grounds should not prevent the solemnisation of the civil union, he or she must discharge the notice of objection.

(3)If a Judge refuses to discharge a notice of objection under this section, any person may make an application to a Family Court Judge for the discharge of the notice of objection, and the Family Court Judge, if he or she is of the opinion that there is no longer any reason why the intended civil union should not be solemnised, must discharge the notice of objection.

(4)A person who lodges a notice of objection is liable for damages if the court considers that the grounds on which the notice of objection was lodged were vexatious and unreasonable.

When civil union is or may be declared void

23When civil union is or may be declared void

(1)The grounds on which a civil union is void ab initio are set out in section 31 of the Family Proceedings Act 1980.

(2)A civil union may also be declared to be void ab initio on the grounds that, at the time the civil union was solemnised,—

(a)one of the parties to it was under the age of 16; or

(b)one of the parties to it was aged 16 or 17 and the consents required under section 19 had not be given.

(3)An application for a declaration under subsection (2) may be made under section 29 of the Family Proceedings Act 1980 as if the application were an application for an order declaring that the civil union was void ab initio on any of the grounds referred to in section 31 of that Act.

24Effect of defects in formalities or procedures

(1)A defect in compliance with the formalities or procedures required under this Act does not, in itself, render a civil union void.

(2)However, nothing in this section exempts a Registrar or civil union celebrant who, or an exempt body that, does anything contrary to the provisions of this Act from any penalty for an offence under this Act.

Certificate of no impediment

25Registrar-General may issue certificate of no impediment

(1)A person who wishes to enter into a civil union outside New Zealand in accordance with the law of another country or jurisdiction may apply to the Registrar-General, in a form that complies with any relevant regulations, for a certificate of no impediment.

(2)Every application must be accompanied by the prescribed fee.

(3)On receipt of an application, the Registrar-General must make whatever searches and inquiries he or she considers appropriate.

(4)The Registrar-General may issue a certificate of no impediment to the applicant if he or she is satisfied that no lawful impediment to the civil union has been shown to exist.

(c)it is in the interests of the public generally, or of a particular community (whether defined by geography, interest, belief, or some other factor) that the person be appointed as a civil union celebrant.

(3)The Registrar-General must give notice in the Gazette of the name of every person who is appointed or reappointed as a civil union celebrant.

(4)A person named in a notice given under subsection (3) is entitled to act as a civil union celebrant on and from the date specified in the notice, and ceases to be entitled to act as a civil union celebrant when his or her appointment ceases under section 28(1).

27Expiry of appointment and reappointment

(1)A person who wishes to continue to act as a civil union celebrant after 31 January in the year after the year of his or her appointment or reappointment must apply to the Registrar-General for reappointment during November of the year in which the person was appointed or reappointed.

(2)The Registrar-General may reappoint a civil union celebrant only if the civil union celebrant has paid any prescribed reapplication fee and the Registrar-General is satisfied as to the matters set out in section 26(2).

(3)A reappointment takes effect on 1 February in the year following the application for reappointment.

(4)A person who is appointed as a civil union celebrant in November or December of any year is deemed to be reappointed on the following 1 February and need not apply for reappointment until November of that following year.

(5)If a person does not apply for reappointment as required by subsection (1), or if his or her application is refused, then his or her appointment is cancelled on 31 January following his or her appointment or reappointment (except where subsection (4) applies).

28Ceasing to be civil union celebrant

(1)A person ceases to be a civil union celebrant,—

(a)in the case of a person who fails to be reappointed under section 27, on the date specified in subsection (5) of that section; or

(b)in the case of a person who resigns in writing, on the date on which the Registrar-General receives the resignation; or

(c)in the case of a person whose appointment is cancelled by the Registrar-General under this section, on the date referred to in subsection (5).

(2)The Registrar-General may cancel a person's appointment as a civil union celebrant if the Registrar-General is not satisfied, with respect to the person, of the matters set out in section 26(2).

(3)The Registrar-General may not cancel a person's appointment as a civil union celebrant without first—

(a)giving the person notice that the Registrar-General is considering cancelling the appointment; and

(b)giving the person a reasonable opportunity to make submissions on the proposal; and

(c)considering any submissions made by the person within that time.

(4)The Registrar-General must give notice in writing to the person concerned of a decision to cancel the person's appointment as a civil union celebrant, and also of any decision not to proceed with a proposed cancellation.

(5)If a person's appointment as a civil union celebrant is cancelled, the notice from the Registrar-General must specify the date on which the cancellation takes effect, which must be a date not sooner than 5 days after the date on which the notice is sent.

29List of civil union celebrants

(1)The Registrar-General must, at least once every year, publish a list in the Gazette of the names of all current civil union celebrants, and this list may be combined with any notice given under section 26(3).

(2)The Registrar-General may at any time publish in the Gazette a list of the names of civil union celebrants who have ceased to be civil union celebrants since the latest list under this section was published.

Subpart 3—Offences and miscellaneous provisions

Offences

30Offence to issue licence or solemnise civil union contrary to Act

(1)A Registrar who knowingly and wilfully issues a licence contrary to this Act commits an offence.

(3)A person is liable, on conviction for an offence against subsection (1) or subsection (2), to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years, or to a fine not exceeding $10,000, or to both.

(4)An exempt body that knowingly and wilfully solemnises a civil union otherwise than in accordance with its rules and procedures as most recently notified to the Registrar-General commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000.

Section 30(3): amended, on 1 July 2013, by section 413 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 (2011 No 81).

Section 30(4): amended, on 1 July 2013, by section 413 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 (2011 No 81).

31Offence to purport to solemnise civil union

Every person commits an offence, and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years, if he or she purports to solemnise a civil union as a civil union celebrant knowing that he or she is not a civil union celebrant.

Miscellaneous

34Registrar-General

35Regulations

(1)The Governor-General may from time to time, by Order in Council, make regulations for one or more of the following purposes:

(a)prescribing types of overseas relationships that are recognised in New Zealand as civil unions:

(b)prescribing fees for any of the following:

(i)giving notice of an intended civil union; and different fees (and different rules for the refund of any part of such fees) may be prescribed for notices given in different circumstances:

(ii)the solemnisation of civil unions (which may prescribe different fees for solemnisation at different times or in different circumstances):

(iii)the lodging of a notice of objection, or a copy of a notice of objection:

(iv)applying for a certificate of no impediment:

(v)applying to be a civil union celebrant:

(vi)applying for reappointment as a civil union celebrant:

(vii)applying to be an exempt body:

(c)prescribing forms to be used for the purposes of this Act:

(d)prescribing the matters that must be included in forms (other than prescribed forms) used in connection with civil unions:

(e)providing for any other matter contemplated by this Act, necessary for its administration, or necessary for giving it full effect.

(2)No regulations under subsection (1)(a) that recognise a type of overseas relationship may be made unless the Minister of Justice is satisfied that that type of overseas relationship is established or recognised under the law of another country or jurisdiction, and that the law of that country or jurisdiction—

(a)does not permit or recognise the relationship unless both parties to it are at least 16 years old; and

(b)does not permit or recognise the relationship if the parties are related as—

(i)parent and child; or

(ii)siblings or half-siblings; or

(iii)grandparent and grandchild; and

(c)requires that the parties explicitly consent to entering into the relationship; and

(d)provides that the relationship ends only on the death of a party or by a judicial or other process that would be recognised in the courts of New Zealand as a dissolution; and

(e)requires that, during the relationship, the parties may not enter into that sort of relationship with anyone else, and may not marry anyone else.

(1)The Registrar-General may, before section 26 comes into force, receive applications from persons who wish to be appointed as civil union celebrants, and may appoint suitable persons under section 26(2).

(2)The Registrar-General may give the Gazette notice required by section 26(3) at any time, but no person who is named in the notice is entitled to act as a civil union celebrant until the date on which section 26 comes into force, or any later date specified in the notice.

46Consequential amendments to other enactments

Schedule 1Exempt bodies

1Application to become exempt body

(1)A body that wishes to become an exempt body must apply to the Registrar-General for exemption in the prescribed form.

(2)The application must set out—

(a)the name and contact address of the body; and

(b)the objects and beliefs of the body; and

(c)the approximate number of its members who are of or over the age of 16; and

(d)an explanation of why the objects and beliefs of the body are inconsistent with the requirements of this Act for the solemnisation of a civil union; and

(e)the rules and procedures that the body proposes to apply when solemnising a civil union.

(3)The application must be signed by at least 10 members of the body who are of or over the age of 16, each of whom must give their age and address, and the signatures must be accompanied by a statutory declaration, signed by a person who is not a member, to the effect that the signatories are who they claim to be and are members of the body.

2Registrar-General or Minister may grant exemption

(1)The Registrar-General may agree to grant the exemption applied for if any prescribed application fee is paid and the Registrar-General is satisfied that—

(a)the objects and beliefs of the body are inconsistent with the requirements of this Act for the solemnisation of a civil union; and

(b)the rules and procedures that the body proposes to apply when solemnising a civil union are generally consistent with this Act and are otherwise satisfactory.

(2)If the Registrar-General fails or refuses to agree to exempt the body, he or she must refer the matter to the Minister.

(3)The Minister must agree to grant the exemption sought if he or she is satisfied as to the matters referred to in subclause (1), but, if the Minister is not so satisfied, he or she must refuse the application.

(4)The Registrar-General must advise the applicant of the result of the application.

(5)When the Registrar-General or the Minister agrees to exempt a body from the requirements of this Act for the solemnisation of a civil union, the Registrar-General must give notice in the Gazette of that fact, and the body is exempt from the date specified in the notice.

3Exempt body to notify changes

(1)An exempt body must notify the Registrar-General if—

(a)it changes its name; or

(b)it changes its objects and beliefs in a way that impacts on why it considers that the requirements of this Act for the solemnisation of a civil union are inconsistent with those objects and beliefs; or

(c)it changes its rules and procedures for solemnising civil unions.

(2)If the body notifies the Registrar-General that it has changed its name, the Registrar-General must give notice of that fact in the Gazette.

(3)The Registrar-General must ask the Minister to cancel the exemption of an exempt body if the Registrar-General is satisfied that,—

(a)as a result of changes referred to in subclause(1)(b) or (c), the body should no longer be an exempt body; or

(b)the body has failed to conduct one or more civil unions in accordance with its rules and procedures as most recently notified to the Registrar-General.

(4)If the Minister decides that the body should no longer be an exempt body, the Registrar-General must give notice in the Gazette that the body is no longer an exempt body, and notify the body accordingly.

(5)A body ceases to be an exempt body on the date on which the notice referred to in subclause (4) is published in the Gazette.

Schedule 2Prohibited degrees of civil union

1Person A and person B are within the prohibited degrees of civil union if person A is person B's—

1

grandparent

2

parent

3

child

4

grandchild

5

sibling

6

parent's sibling

7

sibling's child

8

grandparent's spouse or civil union partner

9

parent's spouse or civil union partner

10

spouse's or civil union partner's parent

11

spouse's or civil union partner's grandparent

12

spouse's or civil union partner's child

13

child's spouse or civil union partner

14

grandchild's spouse or civil union partner

15

spouse's or civil union partner's grandchild

2The prohibited degrees of civil union apply whether the relationships described are by the whole blood or by the half blood.

3In this schedule, spouse and civil union partner includes a former spouse or former civil union partner, whether alive or deceased, and whether the marriage or civil union was terminated by death, dissolution, or otherwise.

Domestic Violence (Public Registers) Regulations 1998 (SR 1998/342)

Family Courts Rules 2002 (SR 2002/261)

Contents

4Changes made under section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989

5List of amendments incorporated in this reprint (most recent first)

Notes

1General

This is a reprint of the Civil Union Act 2004. The reprint incorporates all the amendments to the Act as at 1 July 2013, as specified in the list of amendments at the end of these notes.

Relevant provisions of any amending enactments that contain transitional, savings, or application provisions that cannot be compiled in the reprint are also included, after the principal enactment, in chronological order. For more information, seehttp://www.pco.parliament.govt.nz/reprints/.

2Status of reprints

Under section 16D of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989, reprints are presumed to correctly state, as at the date of the reprint, the law enacted by the principal enactment and by the amendments to that enactment. This presumption applies even though editorial changes authorised by section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989 have been made in the reprint.

This presumption may be rebutted by producing the official volumes of statutes or statutory regulations in which the principal enactment and its amendments are contained.

3How reprints are prepared

A number of editorial conventions are followed in the preparation of reprints. For example, the enacting words are not included in Acts, and provisions that are repealed or revoked are omitted. For a detailed list of the editorial conventions, seehttp://www.pco.parliament.govt.nz/editorial-conventions/ or Part 8 of the Tables of New Zealand Acts and Ordinances and Statutory Regulations and Deemed Regulations in Force.

4Changes made under section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989

Section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989 authorises the making of editorial changes in a reprint as set out in sections 17D and 17E of that Act so that, to the extent permitted, the format and style of the reprinted enactment is consistent with current legislative drafting practice. Changes that would alter the effect of the legislation are not permitted.

A new format of legislation was introduced on 1 January 2000. Changes to legislative drafting style have also been made since 1997, and are ongoing. To the extent permitted by section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989, all legislation reprinted after 1 January 2000 is in the new format for legislation and reflects current drafting practice at the time of the reprint.

In outline, the editorial changes made in reprints under the authority of section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989 are set out below, and they have been applied, where relevant, in the preparation of this reprint:

•omission of unnecessary referential words (such as “of this section” and “of this Act”)

•typeface and type size (Times Roman, generally in 11.5 point)

•layout of provisions, including:

•indentation

•position of section headings (eg, the number and heading now appear above the section)

•format of definitions (eg, the defined term now appears in bold type, without quotation marks)

•format of dates (eg, a date formerly expressed as “the 1st day of January 1999” is now expressed as “1 January 1999”)

•position of the date of assent (it now appears on the front page of each Act)

•punctuation (eg, colons are not used after definitions)

•Parts numbered with roman numerals are replaced with arabic numerals, and all cross-references are changed accordingly

•case and appearance of letters and words, including:

•format of headings (eg, headings where each word formerly appeared with an initial capital letter followed by small capital letters are amended so that the heading appears in bold, with only the first word (and any proper nouns) appearing with an initial capital letter)

•small capital letters in section and subsection references are now capital letters

•schedules are renumbered (eg, Schedule 1 replaces First Schedule), and all cross-references are changed accordingly

•running heads (the information that appears at the top of each page)

•format of two-column schedules of consequential amendments, and schedules of repeals (eg, they are rearranged into alphabetical order, rather than chronological).